Moment of youth

Loucheiz Purifoy earned playing time after impressing coaches in last year’s bowl practices.

Matt Stamey/Staff photographer

By Jim HarvinCorrespondent

Published: Thursday, December 27, 2012 at 8:00 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, December 27, 2012 at 12:10 a.m.

While Florida’s bowl practices should fine-tune the third-ranked Gators’ game heading into their Jan. 2 Allstate Sugar Bowl showdown with Big East champion and No. 21 Louisville, they also can serve as a springboard to success for UF’s younger players.

If any of them need proof, they just need to look across the locker room.

“I told our football team the first day we met and talked about bowl practice the story of Loucheiz Purifoy last year,” head coach Will Muschamp said. “Here is a guy who was really only a special teams player who played very little, if any, on defense throughout the season. He came into bowl practice and had an outstanding bowl practice. I do not know if he started the game, but he played a bunch at cornerback in the game and played very well for us.”

Purifoy played in all 13 games in 2011, mostly on special teams where he led the Gators with 22 tackles. But he had his coming out party in the TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl against Ohio State, registering five solo tackles and forcing a key fumble in UF’s 24-17 win over the Buckeyes.

Purifoy went on to have an outstanding spring, then went out and proved to be one of UF’s most versatile performers during the 2012 season. The sophomore from Pensacola was UF’s fourth-leading tackler with 51 tackles (38 solo), broke up five passes and led the Gators in forced fumbles (three) and blocked kicks (two) while also getting some reps at wide receiver and returning punts.

“As coaches, we always have a big vision of what we want to accomplish,” offensive coordinator Brent Pease said. “It’s the same thing coach Muschamp said about Loucheiz. I mean, he’s a guy that all of a sudden showed up in bowl practices, and look how he’s played throughout the whole year. You kind of see that vision for some of these young kids we’re trying to develop also.”

One player drawing notice is former North Marion receiver Latroy Pittman, a freshman who played sparingly in 11 of UF’s 12 games and caught just two passes for six yards.

“Definitely Pittman,” said quarterback Jeff Driskel. “He’s had great bowl practices and I expect him to make some plays during the bowl game.”

Pease backed up that assessment before expanding the list.

“Like Jeff said, Latroy Pittman has done a really nice job,” Pease said. “I think (freshman running back) Matt Jones is continuing to show up. I think up front, you know, some kids that aren’t going to play in the game like (freshman lineman Jessamen) Dunker have done a good job. (Freshman running back) Marc Herndon (Ocala Forest) has done a good job, (freshman tight end) Colin Thompson is starting to get some reps now and has done a good job, and (sophomore tight ends) Tevin (Westbrook) and Clay (Burton) have done a good job. A lot of those guys have reps and some don’t, but those are some guys who are starting to show up. So is (freshman receiver) Raphael Andrades.”

Some young players have also caught the eye of defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, specifically buck linebacker/end Dante Fowler and cornerback/safety Brian Poole.

“He’s really playing at a high level right now,” Quinn said of Fowler, who played in all 12 regular-season games and recorded 27 tackles, including seven tackles-for-loss and 2.5 sacks.

“You can see the momentum, the confidence, the understanding at a faster rate.”

Those are the types of things coaches will be looking for leading up to Jan. 2.

“We have really challenged our younger players to step forward and understand this is another spring practice for them,” Muschamp said. “They have a great opportunity to springboard themselves into the offseason program and really put a mark on our minds, the staff, as to where they are as a player. That is really important.”

<p>While Florida's bowl practices should fine-tune the third-ranked Gators' game heading into their Jan. 2 Allstate Sugar Bowl showdown with Big East champion and No. 21 Louisville, they also can serve as a springboard to success for UF's younger players.</p><p>If any of them need proof, they just need to look across the locker room.</p><p>“I told our football team the first day we met and talked about bowl practice the story of Loucheiz Purifoy last year,” head coach Will Muschamp said. “Here is a guy who was really only a special teams player who played very little, if any, on defense throughout the season. He came into bowl practice and had an outstanding bowl practice. I do not know if he started the game, but he played a bunch at cornerback in the game and played very well for us.”</p><p>Purifoy played in all 13 games in 2011, mostly on special teams where he led the Gators with 22 tackles. But he had his coming out party in the TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl against Ohio State, registering five solo tackles and forcing a key fumble in UF's 24-17 win over the Buckeyes.</p><p>Purifoy went on to have an outstanding spring, then went out and proved to be one of UF's most versatile performers during the 2012 season. The sophomore from Pensacola was UF's fourth-leading tackler with 51 tackles (38 solo), broke up five passes and led the Gators in forced fumbles (three) and blocked kicks (two) while also getting some reps at wide receiver and returning punts.</p><p>“As coaches, we always have a big vision of what we want to accomplish,” offensive coordinator Brent Pease said. “It's the same thing coach Muschamp said about Loucheiz. I mean, he's a guy that all of a sudden showed up in bowl practices, and look how he's played throughout the whole year. You kind of see that vision for some of these young kids we're trying to develop also.”</p><p>One player drawing notice is former North Marion receiver Latroy Pittman, a freshman who played sparingly in 11 of UF's 12 games and caught just two passes for six yards.</p><p>“Definitely Pittman,” said quarterback Jeff Driskel. “He's had great bowl practices and I expect him to make some plays during the bowl game.”</p><p>Pease backed up that assessment before expanding the list.</p><p>“Like Jeff said, Latroy Pittman has done a really nice job,” Pease said. “I think (freshman running back) Matt Jones is continuing to show up. I think up front, you know, some kids that aren't going to play in the game like (freshman lineman Jessamen) Dunker have done a good job. (Freshman running back) Marc Herndon (Ocala Forest) has done a good job, (freshman tight end) Colin Thompson is starting to get some reps now and has done a good job, and (sophomore tight ends) Tevin (Westbrook) and Clay (Burton) have done a good job. A lot of those guys have reps and some don't, but those are some guys who are starting to show up. So is (freshman receiver) Raphael Andrades.”</p><p>Some young players have also caught the eye of defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, specifically buck linebacker/end Dante Fowler and cornerback/safety Brian Poole.</p><p>“He's really playing at a high level right now,” Quinn said of Fowler, who played in all 12 regular-season games and recorded 27 tackles, including seven tackles-for-loss and 2.5 sacks.</p><p>“You can see the momentum, the confidence, the understanding at a faster rate.”</p><p>Those are the types of things coaches will be looking for leading up to Jan. 2.</p><p>“We have really challenged our younger players to step forward and understand this is another spring practice for them,” Muschamp said. “They have a great opportunity to springboard themselves into the offseason program and really put a mark on our minds, the staff, as to where they are as a player. That is really important.”</p>